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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A young women in New York’s high society at the beginning of the 20th century, in dire need of marriage in order to secure her precarious position. This book brilliantly shows how shifting society structures can alter one‘s life circumstances, how people once considered close friends can become nothing more than fleeting images of the past, and how one’s morals and opinions can be fundamentally changed by time and material circumstances.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beautiful writing in a very tragic tale. The way this high society is rotten is impressive and Lily not being able to be as rotten as the others but not having the courage to fully abandon that life of luxury is ultimately her downfall.
What a sad and tragic ending.
What a sad and tragic ending.
A well written, powerful story. Wharton uses a moral superhero to highlight the ugly ways a woman must stay afloat in high-society in the early 1900's. My one issue with the novel - Lily Bart is too good to be real - but that is probably Wharton's point, no real woman could survive the environment without compromising her values and/or morality.
Would highly recommend to readers of all genres.
Would highly recommend to readers of all genres.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The narrative style and point of view was a bit dry. It would be a challenging read for modern audiences, but the payoff in the final chapters is very much worth the slog.
I loved this. So cool to read thoughts on the messed-up lives of Gilded Age socialites from a Gilded Age socialite. Lily was the perfect protagonist for this tragic tale: I liked her a little bit, felt sorry for her a little bit, and enjoyed watching her decline. Yikes. Wharton made the characters' emotions really come alive with some beautiful descriptions. The pacing felt slow but relentless. I'm looking forward to reading more Wharton!
a beautiful book about a girl who cannot stop taking Ls
oh poor manipulative lily u were an awful main character who would swim in self pity. this girl would be like “woe is me im broke” but also have a gambling addiction like make it make sense. the drama was very good tho so that’s where 4 stars came from